“You should be afraid not of those who openly wish you bad, but of those who are silent” - Ilya Amirov, from the book “Sparks in the Void”.

This is the conclusion we came to in the previous part of our article. And if you were at the epicenter intrigue try to follow our advice. Very soon you will realize that all enemy attacks are nothing more than standard psychological tricks. The main thing is to calculate your strength and don't lose confidence in itself.

Usually lovers of intrigue use several types of provocations:

"Speaking Between Us"

Straight talk is one of the most popular ways to get information. the main objective intrigue- force the victim to reveal himself and his attitude towards others - colleagues, superiors, work issues. Schemer starts with compliments to you, gradually encouraging you to reciprocate frankness.

Your actions. Make it a rule never to discuss yourself or other co-workers with anyone. Treat all compliments with irony. Flattery in your address should be your first wake-up call. As soon as you feel pressure, immediately change the subject of your conversation. Instead of reciprocal frankness - an anecdote or an appropriate joke: "You know me, I don't give up my people." Be friendly, boldly return compliments, but do not make yourself the subject of a general conversation.

"Get in position"

An effective attack that allows you to persuade the victim to complete someone else's task, and then either blame them for a negative result or appropriate their successes. Asking for help with hand wringing is another trick to play on your humanity and generosity and quickly solve your problems ... at your expense.

Your actions. Of course help at work- a thing necessary and necessary. Nowhere without her. But do not forget that it must be mutual. If you think that you can help a colleague, then feel free to bargain and demand equivalent actions in return. This approach will minimize the number of people who want to sit on your head. If you do not want to deal with this issue, learn to politely reject "opportunists".

"Think nonsense"

The main goal of this provocation is to make the victim feel like an alarmist who exaggerates the problem and does not know how to solve it competently. At the same time, he schemer pretends to be a "cool specialist" for whom to cope with the task is a couple of trifles.

Your actions. Of course, it is not good to be in a pejorative position, especially since you know that you are 100% right. But even worse is to engage in an argument with an opponent. Peace and only peace. Draw air into your lungs, take three slow breaths. Repeat your position. Explain it clearly and calmly. Do not fall for provocations, ignore his attempts to catch on to your words.

"Be my way"

A favorite tactic of strong personalities. They are sure that only their position is correct and important, and therefore everyone around them must meekly agree with it. Such people do not get tired of demonstrating personal superiority and pointing out your failure. This will make it easier for them to manipulate you.

Your actions. Communication with such individuals is fraught with the development of an inferiority complex. Therefore, in a conversation with them, be reasonable, perceive their pressure with a dose of humor and skepticism, look for their weaknesses and pay attention to them in between. Well, do not forget to praise yourself more often, avoid self-criticism.

"You will not be understood"

Schemer gives your actions a negative assessment in advance. Moreover, the negative feedback is allegedly presented on behalf of the authorities, colleagues, clients. The goal is to demoralize you and thwart your plans.

Your actions. First of all, do not get excited, use the above breathing exercises, and then ask your opponent to back up your words with specific numbers and facts. Most likely, he will have nothing to say on the case. Back up your success by exposing him publicly, telling him that his behavior has nothing to do with business ethics.

Society teaches us certain rules of communication, and we become so accustomed to them that any deviation seems to us something terrible. Schemers play without rules and use our weaknesses against us. Psychological warfare has not been canceled. Your task is to show that you are above dirty games and it makes no sense to mess with you.

Everyone at work strives to get a place in the sun for themselves and does everything possible to achieve it. But, unfortunately, healthy competition often gives way to behind-the-scenes games. Therefore, intrigue at work is a very, very common thing. True, it is not always easy to recognize the instigators. What are they - office "spiders"? And what to do if you are caught in a conspiracy?

Where are the spiders hiding?

• Most often, the "webs" are those employees of the company who, for whatever reason, consider themselves underestimated. Such people are often exhausted, trying to curry favor with their superiors, but at the same time they do not receive the expected praise and recognition. These "spiders" are especially active in relation to the leader's "favorites". Therefore, a reward system is necessary in every office - it is very effective in neutralizing spiteful critics.
• It also happens that someone begins to weave intrigues simply out of boredom, in order to “discharge” in this way. This can be understood, because few people can withstand the daily tedious routine with the absence of any events. Therefore, the “inventors” begin to artificially create delicate situations in order to entertain themselves. Therefore, it is very important to organize interesting events from time to time in order to dilute the work environment a little. For example, group games and mini-parties will help unite employees. It's also a good way to get to know each other better.
• Most often, "spiders" are people who have any unresolved problems in life. Let's say if a person lacks interest and attention to his own person, then he will try to "get" him at work. You can only feel sorry for such employees and treat them more condescendingly - most often it turns out that they have no family, no relationships, no real friends. After all, it would never occur to a happy person to harm anyone or deliberately arrange discord in the team.

The Flies Are Victims of Conspiracy Networks

• New employees most often fall into the network of intriguers. Spiders "grope for" the weaknesses of the newcomer, closely observing his behavior, in order to then know what leverage to put pressure on to achieve their goals. They can easily take the "green" colleague under control. Another reason for playing against a beginner is the banal fear that he may be more experienced and more professional than someone from the “old guard”. In this case, gossip and intrigues are attempts to get rid of a competing link.
• Favorites of the authorities also often become "flies", around which intrigues are woven. In order not to fall into their number, it is important to avoid complacency and boasting. Employees who have achieved less success, quite naturally, may have a feeling of envy and a desire to teach a lesson to a braggart, knocking down his arrogance.
• One of the most common victims of office spiders are newly-minted executives. After all, they themselves recently stood one step lower, were on a par with the rest, and then suddenly such a rise! It is not surprising that envious colleagues will not forgive such success and will try by all means to ruin the life of the lucky one. Most often, new leaders who are trying to make changes to the already established principles and methods of work of the team fall under the risk of being caught in the schemer's network. Employees will not want to part with the usual foundations and, most likely, will begin to resist innovation.
• The main factor that provokes "spiders" is emotionality and sensitivity - it is easier to unbalance such people and, thereby, involve them in intrigues. Therefore, it is important not to tell anyone about your problems or fears. A spiteful critic who has infiltrated you into your confidence will not miss the opportunity to use this information against you. Never let yourself succumb to provocations and tricks.

Summarize

Now, knowing the main reasons for the division of employees into "spiders" and "flies", you will learn to distinguish one from the other and, if possible, avoid falling into the risk zone. But if you still become a victim of intrigues at work, try to stop this activity using peaceful methods. Be diplomatic and polite. In any case, treat your colleagues kindly, be friendly with them. There is a good Japanese proverb - "The arrow is not allowed into a smiling face." A smile is the best defense against any negativity and aggression. Moreover, by not taking the tricks of schemers to heart and ignoring their gloating, you will show your strength and superiority, which will quickly cool the fuse of your opponents. If it’s difficult for you to control yourself, take a look at the situation from the outside, imagine that you are just being told about it. Then you can impartially assess what is happening and understand the true motives of the conspirators.

Business team at a meeting
This is a series of business pictures with three professional Scandinavian models. The picture is taken in a downtown cafe with great light.

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Why do people intrigue?

Psychologists explain this by the banal desire of the individual to satisfy his own ambitions at any cost, to fulfill himself, but by very dubious methods. Manipulating people, the intriguer usually chooses those who are weaker: a beginner who has barely begun his professional career; a single woman who survived a divorce from her husband; an elderly worker who still has some work left to do before retirement. The intriguer takes pleasure in tyrannizing the weak, seeing their suffering, worries, and fears. But he is not limited to this, his attention is also attracted by promising employees of a creative warehouse, who are usually less protected due to their openness and vulnerability. Strong, strong-willed, successful rivals make him jealous, combined with anger and impotence. It is not easy to strike a strong opponent, but the possibility is not excluded, if you hatch a plan for a long time and hard, then wait for the right moment and take revenge is quite realistic.

The arsenal of means used by intriguers in the struggle for power in the team is very wide.

1. The most common "dirty" methods of typical samples is the spread of rumors, gossip. In other words, the intriguer is engaged in the dissemination of negative information about the "victim" in the team, among the management and even among close people.

Method of counteraction: do not conflict with the boss, show your business qualities in your work, maintain good relations with colleagues, be able to defend another person if necessary. Then you have a chance to count on the support of like-minded people who will not be afraid to stand up for you at the right time.

2. Blackmail is the next step in the machinations of an intriguer. He threatens the victim to divulge her secrets "and weak point" if the victim refuses to comply with the blackmailer's request. Such actions occur less frequently, but they are not excluded.

Method of counteraction: never show your weaknesses, problems and addictions to others, remember - everything can be used against you.

3. False friendship: a schemer rubs himself into your confidence in order to harm you. Your revelations, statements about the authorities, about the team, about colleagues are transmitted to your boss and team members, often in a distorted form, deformed and embellished by his conjectures.

Method of counteraction: do not trust random dubious friends, do not succumb to provocations, do not say too much.

4. Use of information and documents. The intriguer collects a dossier on you: he looks through your letters, listens to telephone conversations, studies your documents, monitors your behavior. You got a harmless chocolate bar from your client - and in the mouth of a schemer, it will become evidence of bribery and corruption, etc.

Way of counteraction: exclude any contact of the intriguer with your documents, letters, mail, ICQ, be extremely careful and vigilant.

5. The intriguer finds support from the boss. This is the most undesirable situation that can develop in a team. This happens when management benefits from a tense atmosphere among employees. According to some leaders, this creates an atmosphere of rivalry and competition. Some executives love and encourage earphones, it seems to them that in this way they are in the know. Many simply love toadying, it flatters their vanity and human weaknesses. Unfortunately, such occurrences are very common.

Way of counteraction: keep calm and professional, be indispensable in your business. If they don’t appreciate you and try to humiliate you, involving you in intrigues, don’t give you the opportunity for career growth, it’s better to think about changing such a team to a healthier atmosphere. After all, you are not a tree, you have not grown roots in the office and you can change either your attitude to the situation, or the environment itself. However, surrendering without a fight may mean you repeat the same situation in any other institution where the same specimen can dwell.

6. Try to cultivate fighting qualities in yourself. You should not follow in the footsteps of an intriguer, imitate him, engaging in tinkering and gossip. However, you should learn to protect yourself and your career. Learn to be vigilant towards yourself, control your words, actions, practice business-like behavior at work, maintain smooth, friendly relations with colleagues, do not stoop to gossip, gossip, scandals.

On the other hand, learn to be vigilant in relation to the enemy: collect all the information about him, observe, analyze, record the facts of his unprofessionalism, document his mistakes, mistakes, shortcomings, and be sure to find an opportunity from time to time to calmly announce the collected information in the presence of the team and management . The intriguer is not ready for this, he does not assume that someone can use his weapon, he considers the people around him incapable of such actions. In most cases, this is true. However, you will overcome the stereotypes and give the scoundrel a real fight. It is possible that suddenly your tormentor will turn into a complaisant obsequious creature. This will mean your victory, but for how long?

Good afternoon, dear homebodies. Backbiting and intrigue at work ruined more than one career. Rumors are like the Lernaean Hydra from Greek mythology: you cut off one head, and two new ones immediately grow in its place. But we know how to neutralize schemers at work and turn the situation in our favor.

Undercover struggle, behind-the-scenes conversations, ingenious combinations, subtle calculations - in a word, everything that is defined by a short and capacious phrase - "intrigues at work" accompanies our office life as constantly and inevitably as an air conditioner or a heater.

Of course, not everyone weaves intrigues at work. But sometimes you catch someone's gaze - and a traitorous chill runs down your spine: what if you have already been chosen as the next target?

There is no point in dwelling on it, otherwise you will turn into a paranoid one. You just need to control yourself, be able to track the “risk group” and develop proactive tactics in dealing with a potential intriguer.

Intrigues at work - fights without rules

Martial arts. Intrigue at work is also an art. And although many prefer to compare intrigue with fighting without rules, in fact, professionals have favorite tricks that are useful to recognize in advance.

Reconnaissance in combat. Some prefer not to start their own game, but gracefully join an already started game. Having studied the groupings in the team, the participant chooses the one that seems the most promising.

It's so easy to offer your services as an informant in the camp of the enemy: sit down and listen kindly, only occasionally politely entering into a conversation. From the outside, you will never guess that the quiet woman is weaving her web.

Shift in emphasis. An ambiguous phrase or even a grimace of a careless colleague will immediately be interpreted before those in power in such a light that the favorite will fall into disgrace, and the informant will take his place.

sincerity. Masters of confidential conversations usually pursue a career as a psychoanalyst or writer. If a specialist in “sincerely frank” and “most secret” is found in the office as a sales manager, most likely, he is not too concerned with production issues, but enthusiastically connects pieces of “valuable” information and then decides what and at what moment make public.

Add fuel to the fire. The next signal phrase should be memorized and sound the alarm every time you hear it: “Do you know what she said about you?” No matter how great the temptation to go to this source of information, stop: the source is poisoned!

Strife-mongers rarely bring only one side to the boil. It gives them much more pleasure to constantly play off opponents, while remaining on the sidelines.

A game of advance. Proponents of this method are very attentive listeners. Moreover, they are not interested in the love affairs of IT people with HR people, but in the ideas and projects of their colleagues.

It is worthwhile for someone during a coffee break (when many of us are visited by brilliant thoughts!) to casually express an original idea, as it is immediately picked up, creatively finalized and submitted to the authorities in the form of a developed business plan - while the author of the idea finishes his coffee.

Understatement. Specialists of this profile, having publicly expressed several remarks about the work of the enemy, pretend that this is only a small fraction of the problem. The calculation is correct: the natural induces others to suspect "terrible" things.

Who weaves intrigues at work?

Characters. Who weaves intrigues at work? Yes, anyone! Apparently, this is one of the varieties of business natural selection. However, in each case, people have their own motives.

If you do not take into account the irrational predilection for petty dirty tricks, they are quite amenable to classification.

New employee weaves intrigues at work

What does he want. The most important thing for her is not to feel like a stranger. Occupy your own niche, find a powerful patron ... She knows perfectly well that the right contacts are half the battle. She just has a peculiar idea of ​​what the right contacts are.

How does it. He chooses a patron and begins to methodically supply him with information. If the information is not enough, something can safely embellish.

Your actions. Demonstrate a calm, friendly attitude. Show where the conference room is, make a company in a cafe. Not feeling threatened by you, she will switch to those who seem to her potential "enemies".

An old employee is scheming at work

What does he want? The production process is of little interest to him. She puts much more effort into being in the center of events and directing them in the right direction. Let without a big salary and career growth, but such people amuse themselves with the fact that they have power - real or illusory, it doesn’t matter.

How it's done? Communicates. On all sorts of topics. The more frank the interlocutor, the more carefully he collects incriminating evidence just in case: sooner or later everything you say will be used against you.

Your actions. Do not show interest in gossip and do not succumb to provocations. If such an "overstayed" is eager to communicate, discuss with her the latest color trends in the summer collection.

When trying to provoke conflict, smile kindly and don't react. To the "object" that does not make contact, interest quickly disappears.

Careerist weaves intrigues at work

What does he want. Climb up the corporate ladder, what else! But it will become a convenient stepping stone for shameless upstarts so that it starts pre-emptive military operations.

How does it. On the fly, he intercepts ideas, does not disdain to look at the papers left on the table, the computer monitor, listens to telephone conversations. Need to eliminate an opponent? It collects "everyday" information on it, transfers it to the right place and waits until it "works".

Your actions. Do not share your plans with this walking purposefulness, except for vacation plans (and ahead of time, without naming specific dates of your absence). In general, do not show awareness - especially when it comes to secret business of the company.

Fair?

What does he want. Oh no, she's not plotting! But if someone, in her opinion, behaves in an inappropriate way (steals ideas, spreads gossip, denounces colleagues), she considers it her sacred duty to use "heavy artillery".

How does it. Waiting. Creates an unfavorable reputation for the enemy. It hits right in the back when she is invited to give an "objective expert opinion" on her enemy's project.

Your actions. Learn to argue and consistently defend your case. The main thing is not to succumb to emotions and not allow personal attacks on her. As long as you demonstrate impartiality and do not leave the professional field, the flywheel of justice will not turn against you!

How to behave?

Receptions against scrap. Psychologists assure that the victim is 60% really responsible for what happened to her - she provokes a critical situation with her thoughts, actions, even appearance. To happily avoid slippery moments, remember some simple universal rules.

Politeness. An innocent joke, a carelessly thrown word - and the intriguer will go to war with you, because she considers herself offended. Remember: those who set foot on this path are notorious and touchy. So it's better to practice wit outside the office. And with colleagues it is worth being extremely polite and correct.

Attentiveness. If there is anything to learn from schemers, it is observation. A small nuance: you need to look after yourself, and not for others. Remove documents from the table, turn off the computer, even when you go to dinner. And watch your speech.

Openness. It is not necessary to keep your "soul wide open", the main thing is to create the impression that this is so. Let the office be aware of your literary tastes, ups and downs with repairs and impressions of the latest fashion show. Then the concealment of really important information will not be evident, and no one will want to “dig” you out of principle.

Disguise. Did you come up with a good idea? Are you developing a promising project? Set off the envious on the wrong track: show increased attention to the second, side project, out loud call it highly promising and discuss your expectations for the successful completion of the case. So you send on the wrong track everyone who wants to snatch a piece of your glory.

Bravery. You are 100% insured against intrigue and slander in only one case: if no one is jealous of you. Is it worth sinking to the bottom solely because of the fear of encountering obstacles during the ascent?

Margarita, teacher:

Elena and I studied together, then stayed together to work at our native department. For several years we were very close friends. However, then misunderstandings began to arise between us more and more often. After a rather unpleasant scene, we stopped friendly communication, but as colleagues, we continued to contact.

When one of my students defended her diploma, Elena was appointed as an opponent. There was no stone left unturned from the work of the poor girl. A red diploma, and therefore a graduate school, became out of reach for her, although she was one of the best students of the course.

Among colleagues, Elena enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a professional, and her vote was decisive. But the work was good! I was well aware that the student was used as a tool to settle scores, but I could not openly declare this.

Olga, HR Director:

At our previous workplace, we had a colleague in the department who constantly turned everyone against everyone. She in turn told everyone something negative about the other person, and if the interlocutor kept up the conversation, she literally immediately passed on the unflattering review “by appointment”.

If you didn't respond to the flow of dirt the first time, after a few days she would return to the "confidential" conversation. In the end, one of the outraged colleagues went to sort things out with the other, the team immediately broke up into hostile groups.

The situation in a matter of weeks became not just tense, but completely unbearable for work. The only thing that I found possible in this situation is to send out a resume.

Irina, marketer:

My immediate boss Oksana liked to arrange something between a brainstorming session and a friendly tea party. She knew how to inspire the birth of ideas, listened carefully, asked clarifying questions.

At some point, it turned out that she presents these ideas to higher authorities as her own - and receives encouragement for creativity. This situation did not suit me, so one day I decided to go for broke.

Hearing once again that Yulia Alexandrovna discussed a new project with Oksana and asked to clarify some points (to “clarify” Oksana suggested that I go to dinner together in an hour), I did not wait for the lunch break and went to the authorities: she said that she had heard about the questions that have arisen and is ready to provide any information, since I am the author of the idea.

I made sure that my name was under my projects.

Good luck in the labor field!

Intrigue at work, gossip and rumors, how to survive in the office?

Intrigue is an integral part of work communications. One of the reasons many people dislike undercover games is their unpredictability. It is difficult to predict the outcome when different characters and interests intertwine.

But is it possible to succeed if you constantly sit at the table, wanting to achieve the greatest possible results? Michael C. Wenderoth, assistant professor at IE Business School in Madrid, thinks not.
He convinces that if you ignore the processes of establishing relationships with management, do not care that the work done is noticed, then you can put an end to your career. Michael K. Wenderoth writes that everyone would like to hope that the world is fair, but in reality this is not entirely true.

Michael K. Wenderoth. blogs.ie.edu

“Therefore, we need to actively build relationships with colleagues and superiors, as well as apply effective communication practices and strategies,” the associate professor concludes.

Not all intrigues are equally harmful. There is a question of terminology here. University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Senior Fellow Annie McKee emphasizes that office politics is the art of influencing others to get the job done. And this requires the development and application of many good qualities. For example, a study by Gerald Bieberman found that people who actively engage in scheming are more likely to have an internal locus of control, that is, they believe in their ability to influence people and events. This is what motivates them to get involved and get others to do their job well too.
Another thing is when . In this case, other mechanisms are already activated that can harm not only the team, but also the company's activities.

The motivation for such intrigues is the achievement of one's own goals, most often the struggle with competitors, authority in the team, social forms of power, and wage increases. Intrigues at work, unlike personal ones, are always conscious and, as a rule, well thought out. Such an intrigue is a complex of manipulative actions, among which gossip, provocations, hidden emotional pressure are most often used.

Who is guilty

Psychotherapist, candidate of psychological sciences Elena Rykhalskaya, says that most often the leader himself is to blame for the occurrence of intrigues in the team, or rather, his forms of manifestation in relation to the team.

The most common mistakes leaders make:

The presence of "favorites" in the team

In this way, the leader creates inequality and the opportunity for the "favorites" to present distorted information that is beneficial to them. This is how a kind of hierarchy is formed, where the “favorites” of the boss have their own “favorites” and, as a result, the motivation for employees is not to improve work results, but the desire and ability to please a person with influence. In such teams, gossip multiplies, it breaks up into conflicting groups, as a rule, the best employees who do not want to depend on dubious leaders leave the team.

Pushing employees "foreheads"

The manager believes that this stimulates better and more active work of employees and the overall dynamics in the team.

Competition is one of the possible forms of motivation. Shutterstock

However, this form of motivation has nothing to do with the constructive form: “competition”, where everyone has equal conditions and a clearly built plan for achievements and bonuses.

Lack of coordination with the team

This behavior has nothing to do with democratic leadership style. Familiarity, broadcasting the image “I am the same as you”, special behavior at corporate parties, flirting with employees contribute to the fact that outwardly friendly smiling employees begin to doubt the authority of the leader and cool down to work efficiency. The leader himself is the object of gossip.

Avoiding conflict resolution

The desire to resolve emerging conflicts formally, working with the incident and not delving into the conflict situation, which is the true cause of the conflict. It always accumulates, exaggerates and just consists of a complex of intrigues and manipulations.

How not to become an object of intrigue

Elena Rykhalskaya gives three tips on how to reduce the possibility of falling into the epicenter of intrigue.

Do not make friends with any of the employees, do not reveal your soul to anyone.
At work, you need to work, not make spiritual friends. Be especially attentive to employees who give you a lot of compliments - “you are such a professional”, “you are the best at it”, “I believe that only you deserve to be the head of the department ...”

Be attentive to those employees who criticize colleagues behind their backs. Shutterstock

Be attentive to those employees who criticize colleagues behind their backs: “in fact, he understands very poorly ...”, “once he almost got fired”, “you are much better than him”, “be attentive to this person, he is such a gossip …”, “Do you know that he said nasty things about you?”, “Communicate less with him”, “all because he is someone's relative”. Never support such criticism, move away from such conversations.

If you have something wrong in your work, do not respond to messages“I’ll cover you”, “don’t tell anyone, we’ll fix everything quietly”, “don’t worry, he won’t even notice”, “yes, we all do this.”

Learn to distinguish between the rational plane of relationships and the emotional. You become a target for intrigue if you move into emotions. The rational plane is interaction at the level of job descriptions and the exact performance of their functions. No joint secrets and sincere conversations with colleagues. For this there are non-working hours, friends, relatives, loved ones.

Margarita Sichkar Founder of the charitable foundation "Camellia"

Schemers are bad! I think that there is no need to fight them - just fire them! After all, these are usually people with low self-esteem. Weaving intrigues, they seem to rise above others. It is possible to re-educate an intriguer, but only if it is a very close person. Then, for starters, you just need to talk to him, and then - according to the situation!

Tatyana Ramus TV presenter

It is important to detect intriguers, but it is not so easy. But an experienced leader, of course, will feel the presence of this type of employee. Conversations with such people are useless, since it is in their nature to twist any information for certain purposes and manipulations for the sake of their interests, but not only! Complexes, mental trauma and much more are often also the result of such behavior. I think that you can help these people, as they say, only by knocking out a wedge with a wedge. Namely - to say goodbye, while voicing the true reason for dismissal. Maybe it will come at the nth dismissal ?!

Such “military actions” must be stopped immediately and not allowed to happen again. It is important to create a corporate culture, pay attention to the motivation of employees for openness, respect, and support.

But, I will tell you that if your team goes to a common goal, without raising its head, knows how to negotiate among themselves, trusts and helps each other, then people simply NEVER engage in such nonsense.